Garment bag



March 25, 1941. D. B. SCHWARTZMAN GARMENT BAG Filed March 15, 1939 M M U m W 0H y M v NIB a M D Patented Mar. 25, 1941 GARMENT BAG I Daniel B. Schwartzman, Jersey City, N. J.

Application March 15, 1939, Serial No. 261,945

5 Claims.

This invention relates to garment bags. It is particularly directed to a garment bag provided with a slit opening, adapted to be closed by slider actuated fasteners.

With such bags it has been found that when the slider is pulled down to open the bag, the user has to spread the bag open to get into the bag for putting clothes in or taking clothes out, making the bag awkward and cumbersome to use. It is therefore an object of my invention to provide in a bag of the character described, highly improved means for automatically spreading the bag open when the slider is pulled down, so as to give ready access to the inside of the bag, and to facilitate using the bag.

A further object of this invention is to provide a. strong, rugged and durable bag of the character described, which shall be easy to manipulate,

relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and yet practical and efllcient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a garment bag embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front side elevational' view of the bag shown in Fig. 1, with the slider pulled down and the bag opened up;

Fig. 4 is a front end elevational view of a garment bag embodying the invention, illustrating a modified construction, and showing the bag open when the slider is pulled down, in dotted lines;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, when the slider is pulled up and the bag is closed;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 5, but illustrating when the slider is pulled up and the bag is closed.

Fig, '1 is a modified form of spring for spreading the bag open when the slider is pulled down; and

spring for spreading the bag open.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, l0 designates a garment bag embodying the invention.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the flat strip (01. 206-7) The same may be of generally prismatic sh pe; I

having top and bottom walls ll, side walls 12, and front and rearwalls l3. The bag may be made of cloth, Pliofllm, Cellophane, or any other suitable flexible sheet material. 5

As shown in the drawing, the top and bottom walls II are made of cloth such as chintz, and portions I la of the front, rear and side walls, adjacent the top and bottom walls, are likewise made of cloth such as chintz. The remainder of, 10 the side and rear walls of the bag may be made of Pliofilm, or other transparent flexible sheet materiaLattached to the portions Ha by stitched binding l2a. The side walls I2 may be stitched to the front and rear walls likewise by stitched l5 bindings l2b.

The front wall l3 comprises a pair of panels l3a of Pliofllm," or the like transparent sheet material connected at their outer vertical edges to the side walls i2 by said stitched bindings l2b. 20 The inner edges of the panels l3a are spaced from one another, and attached to each inner edge by a stitched binding I3!) is a vertical strip 130 of cloth such as chintz. Stitched to the inner edges of the strips I3c are elongated strips 25 of tape l3d carrying complementary slider actuated fasteners 2| adapted to be locked together by a slider 22. The slider 22 may be pulled down to open the bag forming a slit 20, and pulled up to close the bag.

Dimculty has heretofore been found in getting articles into and out of the bag, because although the slit is opened, the garment bag has to be spread apart at the slit, to hang garments within the bag or take garments out of the bag. 35

To obviate this difficulty, means is provided to automatically spread the garment bag wide open at the slit, when the slider 22 is pulled down, in order to give ready access to the inside of the bag.

To this end, there is stitched to the upper end portions of the outer edges of the strips of tape i3d, as at Be, the longitudinal meeting edges of a lengthwise folded strip of cloth forming a tubular pocket 26. The strips of tape I3d terminate 5 at the upper end of the slit opening, but the tube 26 extends on both sides of the slit and is interconnected at the top, forming an inverted U- shaped tubular pocket. The top portion 26b of the pocket 26 extends above the upper end 50 of the slider actuated fasteners 2|. The side portions of the tubular member 28 may extend downwardly to any suitable distance, preferably less than half the length of the slit opening.

Disposed within the tubular pocket 26 is an 55 elongated flat, strip spring 21 flexed about its mid portion, and having downwardly extending arms disposed in the portions of the pockets on opposite sides of the split. The spring 21 is normaily straight and is inserted through one end of the tubular pocket and pushed therethrough, the length of the spring being substantially equal to the length of the pocket. When the bag is closed, the spring is flexed about its mid portion and has downwardly extending parallel arms.

However, when the slider 22 is moved downwardly to open the bag, the arms of the spring tend to straighten out to spread apart or open up the bag opening, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, to permit the user to more easily put garments into the bag or take garments out of ,the bag. In Fig. 7 there is shown a spring 21a, similar to spring 21, but made of round wire stock, having a central coil portion 30 and arms 3| extending therefrom. Said spring is inserted into the tubular pocket 26,)so that the coil portion 30 is disposed at the top, and the arms extend downwardly. The central portion of the pocket may be omitted to accommodate coil portion 30. When the slider is pulled down, the arms of the spring 21a spread apart to open up the bag at the slit. In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 there is shown another means embodying the invention, for opening up the bagwhen the slider is pulled down. In Fig. 4 the garment bag Illa is likewise formed with a longitudinal slit, adapted to be closed by slider actuated fasteners 2|, actuated by a slider 22.

On the inside of the front wall l3 of the bag are longitudinal tubular pockets 33, extending the entire length of the slit. Inserted within the tubular pockets 33 are separate elongated springs 34, normally curved or bowed and having a length, when straight, equal to the length of the slit. When the slider is at the top and the bag is closed, the springs 34 are straightened out, as shown in Fig. 4"of the drawing. When the slider is pulled down, the springs tend to assume their normal curve or bowed shape, causing the bag to be spreadopen so that the user can easily get into the bag.

Instead of pockets, the arms of the spring 21, 21a may be attached to the bag by staples or in any other suitable manner.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. An elongated prismatic garment bag having a top wall, bottom Wall, side walls, and front and rear walls, the front wall being formed with a vertical, longitudinal slit, slider actuated fasteners at the edges of the slit, adapted to be locked together by a slider, said front wall of said bag being provided with tubular members on the in-' side thereof, and adjacent the slider actuated fasteners, and an elongated spring flexed mediately the ends thereof and having arms extending into said tubular members.

2. An elongated prismatic garment bag having a top wall formed with a central opening, a frame beneath the top wall of said garment bag and having a hook portion passing through said opening, a vertical wall of said garment bag being formed with a longitudinal slit, complementary slider actuated fasteners attached to the edges of said slit and adapted to be locked together by a slider. tubular members stitched to the inside of said vertical wall of said bag, on opposite sides of said slider actuated fasteners, and a flat, strip spring flexed at the middle and having arms extending downwardly into said tubular members, and adapted to spread the slit open, when the slider is pulled down, to give ready access to the inside of the bag.

3. An elongated prismatic garment bag having a top wall, bottom wall, side walls, and front and rear walls, the front wall being formed with a vertical, longitudinal slit, slider actuated fasteners at the edges of the slit, adapted to be locked together by a slider, said front wall of said bag being provided with tubular members on the inside thereof, and adjacent the slider actuated fasteners, extending from the top of the slit down, less than half the length of said slit, and an elongated spring flexed mediately the ends thereof and having arms extending downwardly into said tubular members.

4. A bag made of flexible sheet material and being formed with a longitudinal slit opening, slider actuated fasteners at said slit opening adapted to be locked together for closing the bag, an elongated spring flexed at an intermediate portion, and means for attaching the spring to the bag with the intermediate flexed portion at one end of the slit, and said arms on opposite sides of the slit, whereby when the slider is pulled to open the slit, the arms will tend to straighten out for opening up the bag.

5. A bag having a front wall provided with a pair of spaced, vertical, aligned panels of transparent material, strips of cloth stitched to the inner edges of said panels, strips of tape stitched to the inner ends of said flrst strips and carrying slider actuated fasteners, a slider for locking said fasteners when moved in one direction, and for opening said fasteners when moved in an opposite direction, a tubular pocket stitched to the upper ends of said strips of tape, and having an interconnecting portion at one end of said fasteners, an elongated spring disposed within said tubular pocket, having an intermediate flexed portion at the interconnecting portion of the pocket, and arms within the portions of the pocket disposed on opposite sides of said fasteners.

DANIEL B. SCHWARTZMAN. 

